October 1995 Bulletin

Seniors fear loss of own doctor in Medicare HMO

The most significant obstacle toward wider acceptance of managed
care among Medicare beneficiaries is the prospect of losing one's
own doctor, according to a new report that summarizes the findings
of focus groups held in eight cities for the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The greatest concerns of those not in managed care plans focused
on restrictions on choice of physicians and perceived lower quality
of care in health maintenance organizations.

Overall, the focus groups revealed a general lack of information
about Medicare managed care among seniors currently covered under
the traditional Medicare fee-for-
about HMO coverage under Medicare, many of these seniors expressed
disbelief that managed care could provide full, quality coverage
for nominal payments.